South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand news source.
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Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Thai man attacked, seriously injured by wild bull in plantation
A Thai man sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a wild bull in a pineapple plantation in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday, September 2. The community leader, Arunchai Sommit, contacted the Luang Phor Nai Kuti Wat Kui Buri Rescue Foundation to transport the injured man, 64 year old Somsak, from the pineapple plantation in the Kui…
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Bangkok Airways plans 400-million-baht upgrade for Trat Airport
Bangkok Airways has unveiled plans to enhance Trat Airport, aiming to establish it as the East’s aviation hub and stimulate economic and tourism growth in the province. Bangkok Airways CEO Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth shared details of the project during a press briefing at Trat Airport yesterday, September 1. The airport, situated on 1,600 rai of land in Tha Som subdistrict, Khao…
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Hat Yai Airport gets flashy facelift for 37th anniversary
From humble beginnings to high-flying growth, Hat Yai Airport is celebrating 37 years of connecting Thailand’s Deep South to the rest of the world, and it’s not stopping there. Airport director Kritsada Puksap, joined by deputy directors Nopphon Phayapphrai and Wing Commander Chaiyong Lamphrom, revealed impressive figures at a recent press conference. Between October last year and July this year,…
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Multiple bombings and tyre fires hit southern provinces overnight
A series of disturbances erupted across multiple locations in Narathiwat last night, August 31, as perpetrators detonated bombs near ATMs and set tyres on fire. Police responded and conducted investigations into these incidents. Reports indicated the unrest began around 7.40pm yesterday, August 31. The police at Su-ngai Padi station received information from a commander of the Ranger Company 4811 about…
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Thai navy seizes 8,000 litres of smuggled diesel oil
The Second Naval Area Command in Songkhla recently detained a modified fishing vessel suspected of smuggling 8,000 litres of diesel oil without customs clearance. Three crew members were apprehended, and the vessel was brought ashore for legal proceedings. This marks almost 30,000 litres of oil seized in just one month. Yesterday, August 30, naval forces, including patrol boat T.266 and…
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Southern Thailand’s Phi Phi boardwalk faces repair delays
Frustrated locals and business owners on Phi Phi Don in Krabi say officials are dragging their feet over repairs to the island’s main boardwalk, more than a year after storms tore it apart. The boardwalk, a vital route linking Ton Sai Bay pier with the island, was wrecked by fierce winds and waves in July last year. Since then, tourists…
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Speeding pickup kills biker in deadly Phang Nga U-turn crash
A speeding pickup truck ploughed into a motorcyclist at a U-turn in Khao Lak, Phang Nga province, on Thursday, killing the rider instantly in a horrific crash. The fatal collision occurred at around 5.15pm on August 28 near the Kukkak Subdistrict Health Centre on Phetkasem Road, heading towards Thai Mueang district. Police at Khao Lak Station were alerted to the…
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Body of missing Thai man found buried in Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain
The family of a missing Thai man eventually discovered his body buried on a mountain in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Five drug suspects confessed to killing him over a dispute within their illegal business dealings. The family of 35 year old Patipon “Film” Pithak filed a missing person report at Chang Klang Police Station on July 17…
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Phatthalung man claims he runs naked in search of true love
A Thai man ran naked through a community in the southern province of Phatthalung, claiming he did it in search of true love, prompting neighbours to call the police to investigate. Residents living along Phetchakasem Road in the Tha Miram sub-district alerted officers from Mueang Phatthalung Police Station after witnessing the man running past their homes unclothed at around 11pm…
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School lunch scam: Supreme Court jails ex-director for 25 years
Thailand’s top court has slammed the door on a crooked school director who cheated children out of lunches, locking him away for 25 years. The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from Somchao Sitthichen, former director of Ban Tha Mai School in Surat Thani, in one of the country’s most notorious school lunch corruption scandals. The case first grabbed headlines…
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Car bomb rips through Narathiwat checkpoint, 1 injured
Terror returned to Thailand’s Deep South last night when a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, injuring a defence volunteer and triggering a brief gun battle. The attack unfolded at around 8.15pm yesterday, August 20, in Sala Mai subdistrict, where local volunteers were manning a regular security post. According to police reports, the explosion…
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Police accused of embezzlement during gambling raid in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Gamblers in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat accused police officers of taking 50,000 baht in cash, which should have been presented as evidence in a criminal case. A member of the Thung Song District Office, Chanin Jaidee, shared details of the alleged corruption with Channel 8 in the hope of seeking justice for gamblers arrested on August 13.…
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Stray dog in Songkhla melts hearts begging for toy from claw machine
A stray dog in the southern province of Songkhla has gone viral on Thai TikTok after being filmed begging for a toy from a claw machine. The TikToker who captured the moment was praised by netizens for giving the dog his first-ever toy. The videos were shared by 23 year old Kannika “View” Eabsamrong, on her TikTok account, @i.view12, on…
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Thai uncle with history of drug use beats niece to death in Trang
Police yesterday, August 17, arrested a Thai man for beating his niece to death at a house in the southern province of Trang on Saturday, August 16. The Siam Ruamjai Pu-in Rescue Foundation was alerted to the incident at 10.36am on Saturday and rushed to the scene, a house in the Huay Yod district of Trang, to transport the victim,…
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Thailand’s major drug bust seizes 900 kg of crystal meth
A major drug bust in Thailand resulted in the seizure of 900 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, valued at 135 million baht, being transported from central Thailand to Narathiwat. Additionally, police confiscated related assets worth 20 million baht. Yesterday, August 16, at the Front Operations Centre of the Royal Thai Police in Yala, Phumtham Wechayachai, the deputy prime minister and acting…
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Pattani spiritual medium accused of sexually assaulting nearly 30 boys
Teenage boys filed a complaint against a male spiritual medium in the southern province of Pattani for sexually assaulting them. The number of victims is believed to have reached 30 people. The non-profit organisation, Be One, accompanied 13 teenage boys and their families to the Mueang Pattani Police Station to file a complaint against the medium, 25 year old Chondanai. Chondanai…
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Chained body found at Phang Nga pier sparks murder probe
A grisly murder investigation is underway in Phang Nga after the body of a woman was found chained to two concrete dumbbells near a community pier. The chilling discovery was made yesterday, August 8, near the Ban Tha Yai pier in Mueang district. Police Lieutenant Pheerawit Chaichanyut of Khok Kloi Police Station, leading the case, said officers responded with Kusoltham…
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Phang Nga worker’s leg mangled in shrimp pond horror (video)
A shrimp farm turned into a horror scene yesterday after a worker’s leg was mangled by a water aerator in Phang Nga’s Takua Thung district. Emergency responders from the Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation (Loma Khok Kloy) and a medical team from Takua Thung Hospital rushed to the scene at 11.57am yesterday, August 6, following a report of a man trapped in…
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Loan shark conflict suspected after man found dead in Phatthalung plantation
A Thai man died in a fatal shooting in a palm plantation in the southern province of Phatthalung, with police suspecting a conflict within a loan shark gang as the motive for the murder. A letter addressed to his mother, discovered in his bag, is believed to provide a crucial clue. The body was discovered at around 4pm yesterday, August…
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Thai woman’s ‘fat belly’ was 8kg cyst shock
What looked like a bulging belly from too much food turned out to be an 8-kilogramme tumour—and the woman had no idea. A 31 year old Thai woman named Ratchanaporn from Satun province lived for years with a massive ovarian cyst growing inside her abdomen, completely unaware of its presence. Her family assumed she was overweight due to her eating…
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Gunman pursued after fatal M16 shooting in Narathiwat
In Narathiwat province, police are pursuing a gunman who fatally shot a 50 year old man with an M16 rifle on August 4. The incident, occurring at 3.35pm, also resulted in another person sustaining injuries. Thirty-two shell casings were found at the scene. Police Colonel Prayong Khotrasa, Deputy Commander of Narathiwat Provincial Police, alongside Police Colonel Suppachart Na Phatthalung, Chief…
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Thai man allegedly assaults delivery worker and steals 500 baht from victim
A Thai parcel delivery worker accused a male customer, an official at a sub-district administrative office in the southern province of Songkhla, of physically assaulting him and stealing 500 baht. The delivery worker, 42 year old Pongsiri, shared the details of the alleged assault with Hat Yai Focus news agency in a plea for justice. He reported the incident to…
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Dead sea turtle found on Phang Nga beach sparks pollution fears
The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has launched an investigation after a decaying sea turtle carcass was discovered washed up on the sands in front of The Sands Khao Lak by Katathani Resort in Phang Nga’s Takua Pa district. The grim find was first reported to the Phang Nga Provincial Marine Office yesterday, July 30. Officials from the…
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Thai teacher suspended for striking 8 year old boy with broomstick
A Thai teacher in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat struck an eight year old schoolboy with a broomstick after he accidentally dropped a bead on the classroom floor. The boy’s parents shared CCTV footage of the violent punishment with news agencies, claiming the school ignored the incident. They said the assault occurred on July 18, shortly before the…
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Koh Pha Ngan drone thieves nabbed for targeting tourist homes
Tourist Police on Koh Pha Ngan arrested four Myanmar nationals accused of using drones to scope out rented homes of unsuspecting tourists before breaking in and stealing valuables. The men, aged between 25 and 30, were caught at around 5.30pm yesterday, July 22, at an unregistered rental property in Village 3, where they were reportedly laying low. The arrests came…
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Police officer fatally shot near home in Narathiwat
A shooting occurred last night resulting in the death of 32 year old Police Lieutenant Ruzdee Jedorlor from the Su-ngai Padi Police Station. The incident yesterday, July 22, took place near his residence in Paluru subdistrict, Su-ngai Padi district, Narathiwat province. The officer was preparing to attend a funeral when he was fatally shot. Investigations revealed that as Police Lieutenant…
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Stranded boat captain rescued after 4 hours in Krabi sea
A Thai boat captain escaped with his life after his delivery boat capsized during a thunderstorm and he floated in the sea for four hours near Koh Mai Phai and Koh Phi Phi in the southern province of Krabi. The Krabi Provincial Port Security Control Centre was alerted on the afternoon of Sunday, July 20, that a hotel on Koh…
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Thailand to send back stolen orangutans to Indonesia
Thailand is preparing to send four rescued orangutans back to Indonesia by the end of the year, marking a symbolic step in the fight against wildlife trafficking — and celebrating 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) confirmed that the orangutans were seized in two separate illegal wildlife…
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Man drowns after pickup plunges off Nakhon Si Thammarat bridge
A late-night shortcut turned fatal for one man in Nakhon Si Thammarat, when a routine drive ended in horror as his pickup truck plunged off an unfinished bridge, claiming his life in a freak drowning accident. The tragic incident unfolded around 8.30pm yesterday, July 17, when 51 year old Bamrung’s brown-black Isuzu pickup veered off a construction zone in Village…
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